In games such as tennis, people who have developed a high level of skill in their game will with the passage of time find that their physical abilities begin to diminish so that ultimately it is impossible to maintain the skill level that they had at their peak. If players are not closely matched in skills, an exciting, competitive game cannot be played. Close friends, or married couples, or business associates who would like to enjoy a dynamic, competitive game such as tennis cannot play such a game if their skills do not match. As a result such people will either limit their play to "rallying" or "volleying" or playing against someone of greater skill and physical capacity when they are given a significant point handicap. However, even under the latter arrangement the thrill of a closely played match, where each opponent extends oneself to the limit to win, is missing. Using a point handicap in golf can provide a gratifying contest because in such a game each contestant is really playing primarily against his/her self. But on the ball courts covered by this invention a point handicap can often prove unsatisfactory because the better player is not tested by the handicap to improve his/her game but rather to make up for the deficiency in the score and merely tries to score more quickly until he/she has won.
The lesser skilled player is not tested by such a handicapping system because with points granted under the system the game for that individual will not normally be as long in duration as one would be if the skills of the players could be balanced, thus achieving a more interesting and competitive contest.
It is an object of this invention to adjust at least one characteristic parameter of the playing court, i.e., a rear boundary line or the net location, through the use of readily adjustable mechanical means or by controlling the location of such lines by such defining means as lasers, narrow light beams or electrically luminescent tape, or their equivalents. Such physical adjustments can offer a more competitive environment of play than an adjustment in the scoring.
Patents exist dealing with portable or movable boundaries for games or courts. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,968,968 (Mini-Volleyball Court Layout); U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,359 (Portable Sports Court Bounday); U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,497 (Mobile Goals). However, it is considered that such art does not encompass providing a suitable handicap by modifying a ball court to favor the lesser opponent to the extent necessary to provide an even contest or match between two players, or two contestant groups, of unequal skill.